Tuesday, May 13, 2014

PINK IS HOT! TODAY JUST AS IN THE 15TH CENTURY FLANDERS.




I have always loved pink, it is wonderful to see it back in fashion. When I travel, whether here in the US or around the world, I love to visit museums of all kinds. In art museums of course I focus on the works of art as a whole, but I am also very interested in the details, the way the artist has rendered the textiles, gemstones or interior details. Recently in Bruges, Belgium, I visited the Groeninge Museum with a great collection of medieval Flemish art.

Immediately I focused on the pink color being predominant in the garments and floor  tiles of these late 15th, early 16th century paintings. Practically all the paintings of this period had floors with pink or pink, green and white tiles. Clearly the trend of the period!


 It looks like the tiles are glazed, but sometimes have marble tiles added, as above. By Gerard David, 1498.




The above floor looks intriguing, I cannot tell what the blue and white tiles are, they almost look like playing cards.



This floor was one of my favorites, the texture of the green tile is very interesting. Click to see the detail. I was wondering whether I should show the full images, but some of them were a bit gruesome. The painting above shows the man on the left chopping off the heads of three men sleeping in the bed. Their bags are at the foot of the bed. This is part of the St. Nicholas Altarpiece by the Master of  St. Lucy Legend, 1479-1505!


The tiles above look like stone or marble, I would love to know what the pink ones are.


This painting is by the Master of the St. Ursula Legend, 1482. The floor is quite elegant. Here the pink color has been also used in garments and the altar cloth. It has pleated corners and a contrasting trim on the hem, even the pattern is very 21st century! Everything old is new again.

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